Multilingual interactional strategies and policy in
two superdiverse classrooms
K IRSTEN
ROSIERS
S U PE RV I SOR : ST E F S L E MBRO UC K , CO - S UPERV I SO R : P I E T VA N AV E R MA E T
L A N G + , L I N G UI STI C S D E PA RTME NT, G H E NT U N I V E RSI TY
1. Introduction: multilingualism in school policy in Flanders
Reality
Policy
Diversity
Little on diversity and multilingualism
Multilingualism
Vague
Conflict
MULTILINGUAL INTERACTIONAL STRATEGIES AND POLICY IN TWO SUPERDIVERSE CLASSROOMS
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2. Aim
• Explore the relationship between policy and practice in two classrooms
• Classrooms: differences in policy
• Differences in multilingual practice? Translanguaging?
Translanguaging
Total linguistic
repertoire
Pedagogical
aims
More than just
the sum of the
different
languages
• Power of change?
MULTILINGUAL INTERACTIONAL STRATEGIES AND POLICY IN TWO SUPERDIVERSE CLASSROOMS
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3. Context
Ghent and Brussels
City
Ghent
Brussels
Location
Flanders (East-Flanders)
Bilingual capital
Language of environment
Dutch
French
Language of instruction
Dutch
Dutch
* Bilingual education: not possible
Communities responsible for
education policy
HOWEVER
30% pupils in primary
education: other home
language than Dutch
72% pupils in primary
education: other home
language than Dutch
MULTILINGUAL INTERACTIONAL STRATEGIES AND POLICY IN TWO SUPERDIVERSE CLASSROOMS
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3. Context
The Ghent and Brussels classroom
Classroom
Ghent classroom
Brussels classroom
Number of pupils
16 pupils
13 pupils
Languages spoken
English, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Turkish
Spanish, Lingala, Arabic, …
Major group of Turkish-speaking pupils
Lingua franca: French
Policy
Ghent classroom: pedagogical intervention
- home languages of the pupils are welcomed
- pupils can use their home languages in
homogeneous groups
Home languages are not
welcomed
Teacher
- Male
- Late twenties
- Teacher does not understand the language
used most (Turkish)
- Female
- Thirties
- Knowledge of French
MULTILINGUAL INTERACTIONAL STRATEGIES AND POLICY IN TWO SUPERDIVERSE CLASSROOMS
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4. Influence of school policy and teacher
The Ghent teacher
The Brussels teacher
Policy: open to other languages
Policy: use of other languages not authorized
No knowledge of all the languages
Knowledge of lingua franca: French
Extended translanguaging space
Limited translanguaging space
- When teacher is present
 translations
- When teacher is absent
 spontaneous translanguaging among pupils //
Ghent
Appealing to total linguistic repertoire
- facilitated
- stimulated
- dialogically engaged
translanguaging during interactions with pupils
Effects on pupils
 translanguage spontaneously
Effects on pupils
- Translanguaging is more covert
- Translanguaging on surface level: translations
Pedagogically skilled interactant in translanguaging
Minimal pedagogically skilled interactant in
translanguaging
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5. Multilingualism in an open context: the Ghent classroom
• Valorization of multilingualism
• Language homogeneous groups: home languages can be used
• Pupils use the home language more to talk about topics not related to school
content
• However, pupils do use the home language to talk about school content
• Most utterances in the home language are school related
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Example: interactional patterns in the Ghent context
Change in participation framework
• “Merging”: switch from one framework to another
• Someone or an object is added to the framework
• “Splitting”: subgroup
Splitting and subsequent translanguaging
Splitting and subsequent translanguaging
F+Si
één twee drie vier vijf zes zeven acht F+Si
one, two, three, four, five, six
negen tien
seven eight nine ten
Ke
(kijkt op naar Si en F, P kijkt naar
Ke
(looks at Si and F, P looks at him)
hem) (xxx)
(xxx)
P
Allez doe da (tegen Ke, terwijl Ke
P
Come on, do it (to Ke, while Ke
even terug naar kaartje kijkt)
looks again at the card)
Ke
Uh uh uh uh uh (kijkt op naar F)
Ke
Uh uh uh uh uh (looks at F)
F
Bir iki üç dört beş altı sekiz yedi
F
One two three four five six seven
dokuz on
eight nine ten
MULTILINGUAL INTERACTIONAL STRATEGIES AND POLICY IN TWO SUPERDIVERSE CLASSROOMS
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Example: multilingualism in the Ghent context
G
H
G
Si
Kijkt een keer ier
G
(tegen H) Hayat
Kan jij es een keer vertalen voor
haar (Si)
Kan jij ’t haar es een keer
uitleggen?
(…)
şimdi bak var ya
H
Zes komma dertig
Ama kijk da ga nie
Maar
Burda olmuyo
Dus we moete de nulle aanvulle
Ja?
G
Siper weet je nog?
(…)
Dat zijn de tienden he?
Eentje na de komma?
(…)
(knikt) ah ja
Si
Look at this
(to H) Hayat
Can you translate for her (Si)
Can you explain it to her?
(…)
Look, now there is
Six point thirty
But look, it is not possible
But
Not here
So we need to add the zeros
Yes?
Siper do you remember?
(…)
These are the tenths eh?
One after the comma
(…)
(nods) ah yes
• Pupils are working in groups
• One pupil (Siper) experiences some
problems
• Teacher explains
• Teacher stimulates other pupil (Hayat)
to explain in Turkish
• // school policy
• After translation by Hayat
• Teacher interacts with Siper
• Transfer home language 
language of instruction
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6. Multilingualism in a restricted context: the Brussels classroom
• Other languages are not welcomed
• Surface
◦ Less use of other languages than in Ghent
◦ Surreptitious use, mostly French
• In depth
◦ More multilingualism
◦ Depends on the context
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6. Multilingualism in a restricted context: the Brussels classroom
Group activity, teacher absent
+ translanguaging
Group activity, recreational
Group activity, teacher present but located
at a physical distance
Group activity with the teacher
Whole-class activities
- translanguaging
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Example: interactional patterns in the Brussels context
• Translation by the teacher
•  school policy (no other languages welcomed)
Translation to scaffold nomination of a word in the LOI
J
of da kan… juffrou… ik m’imagine e ma da kan dat da heeft gepraten heeft de la baffe
Jk speeksel
Translation to scaffold nomination of a word in the LOI
J
if it is possible… miss… I presume he but is it possible … has talked has saliva
Jk saliva
• Spontaneous translanguaging (teacher distant) // Ghent
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Example: multilingualism in the Brussels context
S
S
S
N
S
N
S
K
N
S
N
‘t Is te veel
Zestig, zeventig, tachtig, negentig,
honderd, honderd en
tien
(… ze fluisteren, discussie, eerst
in het Nederlands)
On diminue quelque chose. On
diminue ça?
Attend, da’s wat dat?
Ça c'est quoi en fait
Ça c'est suiker avec xxx manger,
tu peux fait toi-même ton à
manger avec (…)
Moi je fais comme ça.
Écoute, zestig, zeventig, tachtig,
negentig
Lukt het, meisjes? Lukt het?
Ja juffrouw
We hebben al honderd
(telt verder in het Nederlands)
S
S
first
S
N
S
N
S
K
N
S
N
It is too much
Sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety,
hundred, hundred and ten
(… they start to whisper, discussion,
in Dutch)
We diminish something. We
diminish that ?
Wait, that is what that?
What is that in fact
That is sugar with xxx to eat,
you can do it yourself you to eat
with (…)
I do it this way.
Listen, sixty, seventy, eighty,
ninety
Is it going well, girls? Is it going well?
Yes miss
We already have hundred
(continues counting in Dutch)
• Pupils use their total linguistic
repertoire (i.e., they translanguage) to
accomplish communicative goals
• Adapt their language use to the
introdution of the teacher (Dutch)
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7. Conclusion: policy meets practice
Ghent classroom
Brussels classroom
Linguistic market
more homogenous
LOI = language of environment
internally divided
LOI ≠ language of environment
School policy
Valorization
repertoires
Only Dutch
Legitimation
languages
of
multilingual
of Other languages are legitimate
Other languages are not legitimate
In practice on a Translanguaging, overt
classroom level
Translanguaging, covert
Policy  practice
Bottom-up
Top-down
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7. Conclusion: the power of change
• Brussels classroom
◦ Openings towards multilingualism
◦ Despite policy restrictions
◦ Benefits of multilingualism are not fully exploited
• Ghent classroom
◦
◦
◦
◦
Openings towards multilingualism
Teacher and pupils use translanguaging to co-construct knowledge
Transfer concepts home language –> language of instruction
Learning opportunities are created and maximized
MULTILINGUAL INTERACTIONAL STRATEGIES AND POLICY IN TWO SUPERDIVERSE CLASSROOMS
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KIRSTEN ROSIERS
[email protected]
SUPERVISOR: STEF SLEMBROUCK
CO-SUPERVISOR: PIET VAN AVERMAET
GHENT, MARCH 2016
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